sharp



No. 614,062. Patented Nov. 8, I898.

X c. s. SHARP.

CORN HABVESTER.

(Application filed July 1, 1896.) "(N0 Model.) 4 Sheet s-Sheet I.

Wiines'ses: Invader:

ff: j/W

' fliiormegj Tu: uoqms FEIERS co, woman-(o4. WASHINGTON. D.'c

N0. 6l4,062. Patented Nov. 8, I898.

C. SpSHARP.

CORN HARVESTER.

AppliuMion filed July 1, 1896.;

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

' fnvenior: W JA%W% Mime/55.65.-

.liiormeg 1 s: "cams Pz riks c0. PHOTO-LITHQ, wAsmNGTumm c N 5g4,0 2Patehted'Nov; 8 I898. 0. s. SHARP.

CORN HABVESTER.

(Application filed July 1, 1896.1 \No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet}.

THE "cams PETERS c0. Pnofourno. WASHINGTON n. c.

No. 6|4,062. Patented Nov. 8, I898. C. S. SHARP.

CORN HARVESTER.

(Application filed July 1, 1896.)

4 Sheefs-Sheet 4] (No Model.)

jfiari w'y THE NORRIS vzrzmccu vnoTou'mo" wAsummou. o. c.

UNITED STAT- s PATENT OFEIcE.

CHARLES s. SHARP, OF AUBURN,.NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE D. M. OSBORNE &COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CORN-HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 614,062, dated November8, 1898. Application filed July 1, 1896. Serial No. 597,674. (No'model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. SHARP, of Auburn,county of Cayuga, Stateof New York, have invented an Improvement in Corn-Harvesters, of whichthe following description, in

connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to corn-harvesters of that class wherein the cornis cut and fed along a passage-way in upright position to a binder,whichreceives and binds it on end, such a corn-harvester being shown in myUnited States Patent No. 539,830, dated May 28, 1895; and the inventionhas for its object to improve the construction of such a cornharvesterto the end that it may be regulated or adjusted for binding tall orshort corn and also that short corn may be conveyed along thecorn-passage to the binder without liability or tendency to fall invarious directionsas, for instance, to one side of the passageway.

To regulate the machine for binding tall or short corn, I hereinvary'the position of the bottom or deck of the binder relativelyto thebinder mechanism, and as said bottom or deck is held in differentelevations it becomes necessary to also correspondingly adjust thebottom or fioor of the corn-passage upon which the butts of the severedcorn restin order that the severed corn may be properly delivered to thebinder. In carrying out this part of my invention I may and preferablydo provide a bottom piece for the corn-passage, which extends from thecutting mechanism rearwardly to the binder and which is inclinedupwardly from front to rear, and

pivot said upwardly-inclined bottom piece at its forward end to theframe, adjacent to said cutting mechanism, and said upwardly-inclinedbottom piece serves as the floor of the corn-passage, and said bottompiece is continued rearwardly beyond the rear end of the corn-passage,and such continuation thereof serves as the bottom or deck of thebinder, I

and the rear end of said bottom piece rests upon or is supported by anadjustable support, by means of which it maybe raised and lowered on itspivotal connections and held in different elevations. In a machine ofthis kind it is common to employ upper and lower feeding devices for thecorn, the upper feeding devices engaging the stalks of corn quite adistance above the butts and the lower feeding devices engaging the cornat or near the butts, and as the corn is usually quite tall said upperfeeding devices are arranged to work quite a distance above the lower orbuttfeeding devices. In a field short corn frequently appears mixed withthe tall corn and sometimes all the corn in the field is quite short,and in either case the upper feeding devices when arranged to actproperly on the tall corn will not engage the short corn, and as aresult said short corn when held only by the butts will soon toppleover.

In order that short corn may be conveyed along the corn-passage to thebinder without falling in different directions, means are hereinprovided which engage the stalks of such short corn some distance abovethe butts, which hold such corn in upright position as it is fed along.In carrying out this part of my invention a pair of stalk-engaging arms,

preferably made spring-actuated, are located beneath the upper feedingdevice and one at each side of the corn-passage, and they are attachedat their forward ends and project rearwardly toward the binder and alsoproject more or less into the corn-passage, at opposite sides thereof,and by their spring action normally press one against the other. As theupright corn passes between these arms they bear upon or against thestalks and assist in holding the corn in upright po-.

sition as it is fed along to the binder-and until caught by the packers.In case the corn congregates in the corn-passage these arms will act toseparate the stalks,with a tendency to deliver them to the binder insingle file.

Figure 1 shows in plan view a corn-harvester embodying this invention;Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal section of the corn-harvester shown inFig. 1, taken on the dotted line a: 00; Fig. 3, a horizontal section ofthe corn-harvester taken on the dotted line y y,

Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5, details showing the adjustable or pivoted bottompiece for the cornpassage and binder and means for adjusting it todifferent elevations; Figs. 6 and 7, details showing an adjustableconnection for the stalloengaging arms which assist in holding the shortcorn and in deliveringit in single file to the binder.

The gathering-arms, consisting of the upper inclined portions or b andlower horizontal portions arranged beneath them, are supported by theframework and adapted to form a more or less laterally-confinedpassage-way extending from the forward end of the machine rearwardlytoward the binder, which may be of any suitable construction. A cutter(Z crosses this passage-way a suitable distance back of its forward end,which severs the corn that is gathered by the gathering-arms and whichis presented to it. The feeding devices herein shown for feeding thecorn along the laterally-confined passage-way consist of an upper orstalk feeding device a which comprises a pair of feeding-chains movingin parallelism with the upwardly-inclined portions a b and a lower orbutt feeding device which comprises a set of reciprocating toothedplates 0.

So much of the corn-harvester herein shown and which it appearsnecessary to refer to is substantially the same as in United StatesPatent No. 539,830, heretofore referred to, to which reference may behad.

A bottom piece is provided which extends from the cutting mechanism 01rearwardly to the rear of the binder, said bottom piece being benttransversely at an angle substantially midway its length, presentingforward of said bend an upwardly-inclined portion 0 which extends fromthe cutting mechanism d rearwardly to the binder and which serves as abottom piece or floor for the lower end of the corn-passage andpresenting at the rear side of said bend a substantially horizontalportion 0 which serves as a bottom deck or floor for the binder. Theportion 0 of the bottom piece, which serves as the floor of thecorn-passage, inclines upwardly from front to reari. c., from the cutter(Z to the binder-and the portion a of said bottom piece, which serves asthe deck of the binder, forms a continuation of said upwardly-inclinedfloor 0 This-bottom piece 0 c is pivoted at its forward end, as at c, tothe frame adjacent to said cutting mechanism d any usual or suitablepivot or hinge connection being employed. The rear end of said bottompiece 0 c rests upon and is supported by an arm 0 which is secured toand projects rearwardly from a rock-shaft 0 having its bearings in theframe. An operating lever or arm 0 is secured to said rock-shaft c, bymeans of which it may be turned to raise and lower the arm 0 and therebyvary the height of the rear end of the pivoted bottom piece.

The segment 0 is seen red to the frame, having several holes c and onthe lever c a lug 0 projects inwardly, which is made of such size as tofit the holes in said segment and so disposed as to enter any one ofsaid holes as the lever is turned.

A spring 0 encircles the rock-shaft 0 and i is connected with the leverin such manner as to draw said lever toward the segment in order thatits lug may be held in one of the holes. To disengage said lever, itwill be pressed or moved laterally and when so disengaged may be turned,as desired, to rock the shaft It will be seen that the arm 0 of whichthere may be one or more, as desired, and the rock-shaft and means foroperating it constitute an adjustable support for the rear end of thepivoted bottom piece.

In Fig. 4 the pivoted bottom piece is represented in three differentpositions, thereby enabling short and tall corn to be bound in a likemanner.

I do not desire to limit my invention to the particular construction ofmeans employed for operating the pivoted bottom piece, as it is obviousthat it may be moved or turned on its pivotal connections in manydifferent ways, all of which come within the spirit and scope of thisinvention; but I find that an adjustable support for the rear end ofsaid pivoted bottom piece is efficient and enables the results soughtfor to be practically carried out. Nor do I desire to limit my inventionto forming the bottom piece in asingle piece and serving as a floor forthe corn-passage and a deck for the binder; but in practice it is muchbetter to adjust the floor of the corn-passage and deck of the bindersimultaneously, and hence said floor and deck may be connected togetheror formed in a single piece. By adjusting the floor of the corn-passagefrom the cutting mechanism rearwardly to the binder the degree of ascentwill be but slightly changed to compensate for a material change inlocation of the deck of the binder.

A pair of corn-engaging arms a are located beneath the upper feedingdevice, they being attached at their forward ends, respectively, to theunder sides of the arms a b and extended rearwardly toward the binder,their rear ends terminating adjacent the needle or packer of the binder,and said rear ends of the arms are free or unattached. Therearwardly-extended arms a located close to the corn-passage, one ateach side thereof, also project more or less into or partially acrosssaid corn-passage, as shown in Fig. 1, and as they occupy the same planethey will therefore bear against each other. These corn-engaging arms amay be made as flat or leaf springs-21 e., of flat spring-metal bars-andattached at their forward ends to the arms a b, and they thus resemble apair of long slender flat springs projecting rearwardly toward thebinder and more or less into the cornpassage, bearing against each otherwith a pressure due to their own spring action. In lieu of thus makingsaid corn-engaging arms 0, as flat springs or flat spring-actin g stripsof metal, they may be made of wood and connected to the frame byspring-hinges or in any other desirable way, so long as they subservethe desired ends. These corn-engaging arms a are provided especially forthe purpose of holding up short corn as it is conveyed along thecorn-passage and which if quite short will disengage the upper feedingdevice, and hence they are so disposed as tofengage the stalks of cornsome distance above the butts.

I am aware that a pair of spring-arms have been employed which engagethe butts of the corn and assist more or less in guidingthe corn as itis fed along; but the arms a herein shown differ essentially from saidbutt-guide arms in that they perform an entirely different functionviz.,by. engaging the stalks of corn some distance above the butts theyassist in holding in upright position short corn. These corn-engagingarms also possess another quite important function-'i. e., they act toregulate the delivery of the corn to the binder-as, for instance,suppose the corn should be more or less congregated in the corn-passage,moving along in bunches, it will be seen that as it passes between saidcorn-engaging arms it will'be more or less separated by reason of thecontinuous pres sure exerted thereon by said arms, and as a result thecorn will be caused to pass along in single file or in a more regularorder. I may employ several pairs of such arms, if desired.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, an adjustable connection is shown by-whichthese corn-engaging arms a are adjustablyattached to the under side ofthe arms a b. a represents a flat base of a casting, and a a projectionthereon. The base a has a hole a at one end, through which passesthe'pivot-bolt by means of which the casting is pivotally connected tothe arm, and said base of has a curved slot 0, through which passes anadjusting-bolt, and said base is held securely to the arm by-tighteningthe nuts of both the pivot and adjusting bolts. This casting 0, is thussecurely held in position, yet capable of adjustment in a more or lesshorizontal plane, and serves as a support for the arm a which isattached to it, as will be'described,

and by the adjustment above described said arm is moved in and out. Theprojection 0P on the casting a has a hole which receives the pivot-boltof the arm a and has also a curved slot 00 which receives anadjustingbolt which passes through said corn-engaging arm a and said arma is securely held in place by tightening the nuts of said bolts, yet iscapable of being adjusted up and down to act upon the corn at differentelevations.

It will be observed that in the type of machine herein shown thebinder-dec'k is elevated above the cutter, and the floor of thecorn-passage from the cutter to the binder is inclined upwardly fromfront to rear, and that the feeding devices, by means of which theupright stalks of corn are conveyed along said corn-passage, are alsoinclined upwardly from front to rear, substantially in parallelism withsaid floor, said upright stalks of corn resting upon said floor, and inorder to adjust said fioor so that its rear end shall occupy diiferentelevations to correspond to variations in the position of the deck ofthe binder and still permit said upwardly-inclined feeding devices tosuccessfully operate and feed along the standing corn without materiallyincreasing the draft and without stripping oif the ears said floor ispivoted at its forward end immediately in rear of the out ter. Bypivoting the floor at such point any movement thereofwhereby its rearendmay be adjusted 'to diiferent elevations will but slightly change itsrelative position to the upwardly-inclined feeding devices from end toend thereof and the draft will not be materially increased. Neither willthe ears be stripped ofi, as the stalks move slowly perpendicularlyrelatively to the feeding devices which engage them.

As heretofore stated, the corn-engagingarms possess the capability orfunction of holding short corn in upright position and also ofseparating the congregated stalks, to thereby regulate the delivery ofthe stalks to the binder, and to enable said arms to better carry outthis latter function-viz., to separate the congregated stalks-thefeeding devices which feed the corn along the corn-passage are not onlygiven a rearward movement, but also a lateral movement relative to thecorn-passage, so as to engage the stalks. of corn and move them alongand then disengage them.

I claim- 1. In a corn-harvester, a corn-passage extending from thecutter to the binder, up-

wardly-inclined feeding devices working rearwardly along saidcorn-passage, a floor for said corn-passage inclined upwardly fromfront-to rear substantially in parallelism with said feeding devices andpivoted at its forward end directly in rear of the cutter, and means foradjusting said floor on its pivotal connection whereby its rear end mayoccupy different elevations yet its position relative to said feedingdevices will be varied gradually from end to end thereof, substantiallyas described.

2. In a corn-harvester, means for gathering and cutting the corn, abinder having a deck adjustable to different elevations above thecutter, a corn-passage extending from the cutter to said binder, havinga floor inclined upwardly for its entire length, and pivoted at itsforward end directly in rear of the cutter, means for moving said flooron its pivotal connection and for holding it in different elevations,and feeding'devices moving in an upwardly-inclined plane correspondingto the upward inclination of said floor for feeding the severed corn inupright position along said corn-passage, substantially as described.-3. In a corn-harvester, means for gathering and cutting the corn, abinderhaving a deck elevated above the cutter, a corn-passage-extendingfrom the cutter to said binder having a floor inclined upwardly for itsentire length and pivoted at its forward end directly in rear of thecutter, and connected at its rear end with said binder-deck, and meansfor adj usting said floor and binder-deck to different elevations, andfeeding devices moving in an upwardly-inclined plane corresponding tothe upward inclination of said floor, for feeding the severed corn inupright position along said corn-passage to the binder, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a corn-harvester, a corn-passage, upper and lower feeding devicesfor feeding the upright corn along to the binder, and one or morecorn-engaging arms 0. located adjacent to the upper feeding device,which extend from a point forward of the rear of the upper feedingdevice rearwardly toward the binder and project more or less into saidcorn-passage and engage the corn some distance above the butts,substantially as described.

5. In a corn-harvester, a corn-passage, upper and lower feeding devicesfor feeding the upright corn along to the binder, and a pair ofcorn-engaging arms located beneath and adjacent to the upper feedingdevice which extend rearwardly toward the binder, from a point forwardof the rear of said upper feeding device, and which project more or lessinto the corn-passage at opposite sides, substantially as described.

6. In a corn-harvester, a corn-passage, upper and lower feeding devicesfor feeding the upright stalks along to a binder, and a pair ofcorn-engaging arms located beneath the upper feeding device which extendrearwardly toward the binder and project more or less into thecorn-passage at opposite sides and engage the corn some distance abovethe butts and terminate beyond the rear ends of the upper feedingdevices and within the path of the packers, substantially as described.

7. In a corn-harvester, a corn-passage, upwardly-inclined feedingdevices for feeding upright corn along to the binder, and a pair ofspring-arms attached to the frame beneath yet adjacent to said upperfeeding device, one at each side of the corn-passage, which extendrearwardly toward the binder, and project more or less into thecorn-passage to bear against the corn and assist in holding the corn inupright position as it is fed along the cornpassage to the binder,substantially as described.

8. In a corn-harvester, a corn-passage, a cutter, an upwardly-inclinedfeeding device which engages the corn in front of and also at the rearof the cutter, a butt-feeding device working at the rear of the cutter,and a pair of corn-engaging arms a located beneath but adjacent to saidupwardly-inclined feeding device, which extend rearwardly from a pointin front of the rear end of said feeding device, substantially asdescribed.

9. In a corn-harvester, a corn-passage,cornholding arms a supportstherefor to which they are pivotally connected, and means for adjustingsaid arms on their pivots up and down and holding them in differentelevations, substantially as described.

10. In a corn-harvester, a corn-passage, corn-holding arms 0. supportsto which they are attached, and means for adjusting said supports ontheir pivots to thereby move said arms in and out, substantially asdescribed.

11. In a corn harvester, a corn passage, arms a, b, at the sidesthereof, and stalk-holding arms a attached to the under sides of saidarms aand b, extending rearwardly toward the binder and more'or lessinwardly toward each other, and means for adjusting said arms aindependently up and down and in and out, substantially as described.

12. In a corn-harvester, a cornpassage along which the severed corn isfed in upright position, a pair of yielding corn engaging arms locatedone at each side of said cornpassage and projecting more or lessthereinto, and which act upon the corn above the butts as it is fedalong said corn-passage, to more or less separate the congregated stalksof corn and thereby regulate the delivery thereof, and feeding devicesfor feeding the severed corn along said corn passage and between saidcorn-engaging arms having a rearward and a lateral movement,substantially as described.

13. In a corn harvester, a corn passage along which the severed corn isfed in upright position, a pair of corn-engagin g arms,located one ateach side of said corn-passage, and attached at their forward ends andleft free or unattached at their rear ends, said arms projectingrearwardly and more or less into the corn-passage, and acting upon thecorn some distance above the butts to separate the congregated stalks ofcorn, and feeding devices for feeding the severed corn along saidcornpassage and between said corn engaging arms having a rearward and alateral movement, substantially as described.

14:. In a corn-harvester, a cutter, a passage along which the severedcorn is fed in upright position, a pair of corn-en gaging arms locatedone at each side of said corn-passage, and attached at their forwardends and left free or unattached at their rear ends, said armsprojecting rearwardly and bearing against each other at their rear endsand acting to separate the corn and thereby regulate its delivery,andfeeding devices for feeding the corn along said corn-passage and betweensaid corn-engaging arms having a rearward and a lateral movement,substantially as described.

15. In a corn harvester, a corn passage along which the severed stalksof corn are fed in upright position, a binderat the rear of saidcorn-passage, a pair of corn -engaging arms which act upon the corn insaid corn-passage just in front of the binder, and separate congregatedstalks, and feeding devices having a rearward and a lateral movementwhich engage the corn While acted upon by said cornengaging arms, andwhich move the corn along toward the binder into the path of thepackers, substantially as described.

16. In a corn harvester, a corn passage along which the severed stalksof corn are fed in upright position, abinder at the rear of saidcorn-passage, a pair of cooperating corn-engaging arms constructed andarranged to act upon the corn which is moving along said corn-passagesome distance above the butts, to separate congregated stalks, and toalso hold up the short stalks of corn, and feeding devices having arearward and a lateral movement, which intermittingly engage and moverearward the corn, substantially as described.

CHARLES S. SHARP.

Witnesses:

R. M. ATHERLY, S. E. FARWELL.

